The chief executive of Hyder Consulting, the engineer whose heritage includes working on Tower Bridge in the 19th century, today claimed there are “green shoots” of recovery in the infrastructure sector.

Ivor Catto pointed to a strategy of focusing on winning work with clients that have heavy capital expenditure programmes, such as Network Rail and the Highways Agency, as a key reason for strong annual results. Revenue was up 8% to £298.1 million while pre-tax profit, excluding one-off costs related to restructuring in Asia, soared 10% to £23.8 million.

Catto said: “We feel that the [British] market is starting to improve, that there are green shoots. We’ve targeted companies that have continued to spend.”

Hyder also confirmed its status as one of the Environment Agency’s favoured consultants, having won several contracts in partnership with Jackson Civil Engineering. These are worth £40 million to Hyder over four years as the agency looks to reduce flood risks.